Stocks Surf South During Holiday-Shortened Week – $BRQS $INDP $META $MSFT Rise

By John F. Heerdink, Jr.

Quote of the Day: “A man who is a master of patience is master of everything else.” – George Savile

Happy Saturday!

I hope that you had a great holiday-shortened week and are out enjoying yourself.

As for the broad markets this week, the stock indices took a significant turn for the worse across the board as interest rates jumped & China’s restriction Apple device sells added significant downward pressure to the indices as this highly weighted stock dropped throughout the week. In addition, the recent OPEC+ restrictive measures pushed oil prices 2% higher again this week to close at $87.28/bbl and leaving them well above the traditionally acceptable range of $60-80 and up about 10% over the last 2-weeks. Many analysts are now gloomily predicting oil prices will move north of $100/bbl soon that will add costs to the system and further upward pressure on inflation if something is not systematically changed.

At the end of the week, the small caps on the Russell 2000 took the biggest hit and closed at 1,851.54 (-3.6%) for the week & is now up 5.1% YTD. The Nasdaq fell 1.9% for the week & closed back below the 14k level at 13,761.50 (-1.9%) and is now up 31.5% YTD. The Dow 30 closed at 34,576.50 (-.7%) this week and is now up 4.3% YTD. The S&P 500 closed at 4,457.49 (-1.3%) for the week and is now up 16.1% YTD with 9 of the 11 sectors closing in the red. The energy sector moving up 1.4% and the utilities sector moving up .3% were the lone positive moving holdouts.

The Magnificent Seven had a mixed week and performed as follows over the last 5-days: Apple (AAPL, $178.18, -5.16% as it took hits per China’s select restrictive measures regarding all device use in China, Alphabet (GOOG) closing at $137.20, -.11%, Amazon (AMZN) closing at $138.23, +.16%, Meta Platforms (META) closing at $297.89, +.68%, Microsoft (MSFT) closing at $334.27, +1.99%, NVIDIA (NVDA) closing at $455.72, -7.66% & Tesla (TSLA) closing at $248.50, -3.71%.

The MicroCaps also moved lower this week as the iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC) closed at $104.84, -2.69% this week & is now down 2.77% YTD. The CBOE Volatility Index (^VIX) fell 1.21% closing at $13.84 over the last 5 days.

A number of macroeconomic reports helped fuel inflationary/Fed interest rate raising fears as well. We saw a jump in the yield curve but once again steepen with the 2-yr note moved up 9bps to a close at 4.97% & the 10-yr note yield moved up from 4.17% to 4.26%. On Tuesday, the factory orders for July report showed a better than expected 2.1% M/M drop. On Wednesday, the Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index report came in at -2.9%, the July Trade Balance report at -$65B, & the Final August S&P Global US Services PMI report that slipped to 50.5. And the August ISM Non-Manufacturing Index report showed an alarming rise to 54.5%. On Thursday, the Weekly Initial Claims report came in at 216k and lower than expected, while the Weekly Continuing Claims also came in lower at 1.679M. The Q2 Productivity report clocked in lower at 3.5% & the Q2 Unit Labor Costs report confirmed a higher mark at 2.2%. on Friday, the wholesale inventories report for July confirmed a .2% drop.

The U.S. Dollar Index also rose again this week from 1.04.26 to 105.06 this week.

Bank stocks took a turn for the worst this week as the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) moved down 2.69% over the last 5-days to close at $43.36 and is now down 26.18% YTD & the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) also moved down by 2.28% over the last 5-days to close at $38.17

Biotech sector valuations dropped back this week across the board. The Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) closed at $126.85, -1.45% over the last 5-days and is now down 3.38% YTD, the NYSE ARCA Biotech Index (^BTK) closed at 5,200.34, -1.71% over the last 5-days and is now down 1.53% YTD, & the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) closed at $78.65, -.69% over the last 5-days, & is now down 5.24% YTD. The 52-week range is is now $72.44-$92.60 and continues to get tighter.

Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) closed at $43.68, -.16% over the last 5-days and is up 39.82% YTD.

The iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH) closed at $278.50, -.96% over the last 5-days and is now down 1.84% YTD.

From the world of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC) moved to $25,889.67 up .30% over the course of the last 5-days at the time of the completion of this message.

Gold prices closed at $1,927, -$14/oz over the last 5-days. Silver prices closed at $23.13, -$1.19/oz over the last 5-days.

Next week we are due to receive the CPI inflation report and the retail sales report.

VP Watchlist Updates

Lantern Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: LTRN) closed at $4.48, +1.59% and up to $4.78, +6.70% in the aftermarket on Friday. Lantern is developing targeted and transformative cancer therapies using its proprietary RADR® AI and machine learning (“ML”) platform with multiple clinical stage drug programs. Lantern believes that the use of machine learning, genomics and computational methods can help accelerate the development and commercialization of small molecule-based therapies. These drugs can be targeted to patients whose genomic profile identifies them as having the highest probability of benefiting from the drug, thereby creating the potential to achieve better outcomes.Their proprietary AI and machine learning (ML) platform, RADR®, leverages over 25 billion oncology-focused data points and a library of 200+ advanced ML algorithms to help solve billion-dollar, real-world problems in oncology drug development. Learn more about Lantern at the VP Watchlist Page.

On August 31, Lantern announced that it will present positive data highlighting the anti-tumor potency of its drug candidate LP-284 for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) at the Society of Hematologic Oncology (SOHO) Eleventh Annual Meeting occurring on Sept. 6 – 9, 2023, at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. LP-284 is a small molecule with a synthetically lethal mechanism of action that preferentially damages cancer cells.. Lantern is developing LP-284 for the treatment of relapsed or refractory NHL, including Mantle Cell Lymphoma and Double Hit Lymphomas. Lantern expects to initiate Phase 1 clinical trials for LP-284 during Q4 of 2023. Lantern’s LP-284 program has been accelerated and de-risked using AI insights and biological modeling powered by RADR®. Lantern has been able to advance LP-284 from initial RADR® insights regarding anti-cancer activity and potential mechanisms of action in hematological cancers, to selection of specific subtypes of lymphomas with superior response, to late-stage IND enabling studies, and initial design of first in human clinical trials in less than two years.

Details of the poster presentation are listed below and can be found on the SOHO website. A full version of the poster will be available on Lantern’s website on September 11, 2023.

Title: LP-284 – Targeting Homologous Recombination Deficiencies in B-Cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas with the Novel Anti-Tumor Small Molecule LP-284
Date and Time: September 6, 2023, 6:00pm CT
Poster Number: ABCL-180
Presenter: Jianli Zhou, Ph.D., Lantern Pharma

On August 28, Lantern announced a substantial increase in the power and capabilities of RADR® focused on improving the drug development process for immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). These capabilities are expected to address the multiple challenges facing the increased usage of ICIs in cancer therapy. Since gaining regulatory approval in 2011, ICIs have improved the lives of tens of thousands of cancer patients as either monotherapies, and more recently, in combination regimens with other therapies. The success of ICIs has resulted in multiple competing ICI molecules, often from the same class, in overlapping cancer indications. Additionally, recent clinical trial failures reveal headwinds to the desired expansion of ICIs for a broader range of cancers and patient groups. Currently, there are over 5,200 ongoing clinical trials involving ICIs, many of these lacking adequate biomarker strategies or guidance from AI enabled approaches to optimize the selection of patient responder populations. In a recent study presented at the 2023 ASCO meeting, RADR’s® algorithms demonstrated an 88% accuracy rate in predicting which melanoma (skin cancer) patients exhibiting resistance to anti-PD1 therapy will respond to Elraglusib, a GSK-3ϐ inhibitor being developed by Actuate Therapeutics, which previously entered into a multi-year research and development collaboration with Lantern Pharma to leverage the RADR® platform. The continued growth of ICIs, especially the approval of new ICIs, will be predicated on: 1) efficiently identifying new biomarker or molecular signatures for optimal patient selection, stratification, and management, and 2) rapidly developing combination regimens that overcome treatment challenges facing current and emerging solid and hematological cancer indications. Lantern’s latest RADR® AI developments will focus on addressing these challenges by building automated and highly scalable computational analytics to generate clinically relevant tumor-specific and tumor-agnostic molecular signatures to guide the identification and development of drug combinations that can prolong ICI durability of response and improve patient survival. These developments will leverage RADR® to uncover molecular drivers of response and resistance influencing ICI treatment outcomes by coupling pathway and network-based analytics with the simultaneous screening of millions of targets from complex clinical and biological data sets. This capability will be powered by tens of billions of new data points from immunotherapy and checkpoint inhibitor studies that Lantern has begun to add to its RADR® platform.

Lantern plans to deploy its new RADR® ICI predictive module with biopharma partners and to identify potential combinatorial strategies for LP-184 and LP-284, the first of Lantern’s drug candidates developed internally with the assistance of the RADR® AI platform. The ICI market is projected to reach $67.8 billion in annual sales by 2025, according to GlobalData, with future growth dependent on approvals from precision-based approaches guiding the development and positioning of new combination therapies.

Panna Sharma is the President, CEO, and Board Member of Lantern Pharma Inc.

“We are expanding the functionality of our RADR® AI platform in ways that aim to solve the very meaningful and important challenges of future checkpoint inhibitor development. We initially began this effort by identifying meaningful combinations with checkpoint inhibitors that might be the most effective with our LP-184 and LP-284 drug candidates. Our latest RADR® advancements add a new level of speed, scalability, and precision in the identification of rational combination therapies that have the potential to overcome known shortcomings of ICIs. The current clinical trial landscape of ICIs is at a critical juncture, with dozens of new indications being pursued. Unfortunately, the majority of these trials are unlikely to succeed unless the right cancer subtypes are pinpointed and unless the right combinations with other molecules are pursued. ICIs have the potential to benefit from the ability to predict which patient groups and which cancer subtypes will respond to the drug or drug combination, which is a fundamental part of our AI platform, RADR®, as we recently demonstrated in our collaborative 2023 ASCO poster,”stated Panna Sharma, Lantern’s CEO and President.

On Aug 9. , Lantern hosted its second quarter 2023 operating and financial results webcast to discuss the operating and financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 and provide guidance on upcoming milestones. Panna Sharma, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lantern Pharma, will led the call & highlighted the following:

Obtained FDA clearance of the IND application for LP-184 and activated initial clinical sites for the Phase 1 basket trial in relapsed/refractory advanced solid tumors and brain cancers – a patient population with unmet clinical needs,
Completed IND-enabling studies for LP-284 and anticipate IND submission in August; first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial targeted for Q4 in advanced non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas,
Dosed initial patients in the Phase 2 Harmonic™ clinical trial for never smokers with NSCLC, who make up 15-20% of all lung cancer cases; continued expansion of additional clinical trial sites in the US and increased patient recruitment activity.
Initiated RADR® collaboration with Bielefeld University to design and develop breakthrough antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) with greater precision and efficacy,
Received US Patent & Trademark Office notice of allowance for composition of matter patent for LP-284, extending commercial protection into early 2039, &
$48.0 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of June 30, 2023, providing a cash runway into 2025.

Indaptus Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: INDP, closed at $3.06, +6.25% over the course of the last 5-days and has risen to $3.19,+4.25% in the aftermarket on Friday and is up 111.03% YTD), a company with the ability to harness both the body’s innate and adaptive immune responses, believes they are uniquely positioned to revolutionize the treatment of cancer and certain infectious diseases.

Indaptus is a company with the ability to harness both the body’s innate and adaptive immune responses, believes that they are uniquely positioned to revolutionize the treatment of cancer and certain infectious diseases. Indaptus Therapeutics has evolved from more than a century of immunotherapy advances. The Company’s novel approach is based on the hypothesis that efficient activation of both innate and adaptive immune cells and pathways and associated anti-tumor and anti-viral immune responses will require a multi-targeted package of immune system-activating signals that can be administered safely intravenously (i.v.). Indaptus’ patented technology is composed of single strains of attenuated and killed, non-pathogenic, Gram-negative bacteria producing a multiple Toll-like receptor (TLR), Nucleotide oligomerization domain (Nod)-like receptor (NLR) and Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) agonist Decoy platform. The products are designed to have reduced i.v. toxicity, but largely uncompromised ability to prime or activate many of the cells and pathways of innate and adaptive immunity. Decoy products represent an antigen-agnostic technology that have produced single-agent activity against metastatic pancreatic and orthotopic colorectal carcinomas, single agent eradication of established antigen-expressing breast carcinoma, as well as combination-mediated eradication of established hepatocellular carcinomas and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas in standard pre-clinical models, including syngeneic mouse tumors and human tumor xenografts. In pre-clinical studies tumor eradication was observed with Decoy products in combination with anti-PD-1 checkpoint therapy, low-dose chemotherapy, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or an approved, targeted antibody. Combination-based tumor eradication in pre-clinical models produced innate and adaptive immunological memory, involved activation of both innate and adaptive immune cells, and was associated with induction of innate and adaptive immune pathways in tumors after only one i.v. dose of Decoy product, with associated “cold” to “hot” tumor inflammation signature transition. IND-enabling, nonclinical toxicology studies demonstrated safe i.v. administration without sustained induction of hallmark biomarkers of cytokine release syndromes, possibly due to passive targeting to liver, spleen, and tumor, followed by rapid elimination of the product. Indaptus’ Decoy products have also produced significant single agent activity against chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and chronic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in pre-clinical models.

On August 14, Indaptus announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 and provided a corporate update.

Jeffrey Meckler, CEO, Indaptus Therapuetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: INDP)

Jeffrey Meckler, Chief Executive Officer of Indaptus stated, “We have recently announced the completion of the first cohort of patients in our INDP-D101 trial evaluating Decoy20 for the treatment of solid tumors and receipt of authorization from the Safety Review Committee to advance into the second cohort. As previously announced, we are pleased to observe evidence of immune activation, along with short-lived adverse events consistent with Decoy20’s mechanism of action. We continue to analyze the data generated and anticipate that the data from the dose finding studies will guide the selection for the recommended Phase 2 dose for subsequent multi-dosing and combination studies, which are planned for 2024. An additional recent accomplishment is the appointment of industry veteran, Roger Waltzman, M.D., as our Chief Medical Officer. We anticipate benefiting from his expertise as we continue our Phase 1 trial and further develop the Decoy platform. In the meantime, we are prudently managing our cash position.”

Recent Corporate Highlights:

The Company announced the completion of the first cohort of its INDP-D101 trial and receipt of authorization from its Safety Review Committee to proceed into the second cohort of the Phase 1 trial.
A compound from the Company’s Decoy platform was presented in a poster titled, “A systemically administered killed bacteria-based multiple immune receptor agonist for pulsed anti-tumor immunotherapy,” at the American Association for Cancer Research Conference 2023. The poster highlighted that Decoy10 demonstrated 90% reduction of LPS-endotoxin activity and use of 100% killed, non-pathogenic bacteria.
The Company’s Chief Scientific Officer, Michael Newman, Ph.D., was named Chair for two of the three days of the 4th STING & TLR-Targeting Therapies Summit held in Boston from May 9 to 11, where he was also a featured speaker.
The Company received patent allowances for its Decoy immunotherapy platform in Brazil and India. The Indian patent allowance brought the number of countries in which the Company holds patent protection to 32.
Roger Waltzman, M.D. was appointed the Chief Medical Officer of Indaptus, effective August 7, 2023.

Learn more about Indaptus Therapeutics (NASDAQ: INDP) at the VP Watchlist page by clicking here.

On Aug. 14, INVO Bioscience, Inc. (Nasdaq: INVO, $1.37), a healthcare services fertility company focused on expanding access to advanced treatment worldwide with its INVOcell® medical device and the intravaginal culture (“IVC”) procedure it enables, announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 and provided a business update. Q2 2023 Financial Highlights (all metrics compared to Q2 2022 unless otherwise noted):

Revenue was $315,902, an increase of 116% compared to $146,135.
Clinic revenue increased 126% to $254,364, compared to $112,358. All reported clinic revenue is derived from the Company’s INVO Center in Atlanta, Georgia, which is consolidated in the Company’s financial statements.
Revenue from all clinics, inclusive of both those accounted for as consolidated and under the equity method, was $712,433, an increase of 145% compared to $290,517.
Recent Operational and Strategic Highlights
Acquired Wisconsin Fertility Institute (WFI), a profitable Madison-based fertility center that primarily offers conventional IVF procedures and generated approximately $5.4 million in revenue and approximately $1.7 million of net income in 2022.
Acquisition further accelerates INVO’s transition to a healthcare services company and provides an opportunity to advance IVC volume and the ability to secure a greater share of total fertility cycle revenue.
Implemented expense reductions as part of go-forward plan to focus on its healthcare service strategy and a near-term path to profitability.
Buildout of the Company’s new Tampa, Florida clinic – Tampa Fertility Institute, an INVO Center – is nearing completion.
Raised approximately $4.5 million in gross proceeds in a public offering of common stock and warrants. The Company used approximately $2.15 million of proceeds for the initial payment for the WFI acquisition.
Received 510(k) FDA clearance for expanded use of the INVOcell device.

Q2 2023 Financial Highlights (all metrics compared to Q2 2022 unless otherwise noted)

Revenue was $315,902, an increase of 116% compared to $146,135.
Clinic revenue increased 126% to $254,364, compared to $112,358. All reported clinic revenue is derived from the Company’s INVO Center in Atlanta, Georgia, which is consolidated in the Company’s financial statements.
Revenue from all clinics, inclusive of both those accounted for as consolidated and under the equity method, was $712,433, an increase of 145% compared to $290,517.

Recent Operational and Strategic Highlights

Acquired Wisconsin Fertility Institute (WFI), a profitable Madison-based fertility center that primarily offers conventional IVF procedures and generated approximately $5.4 million in revenue and approximately $1.7 million of net income in 2022.
Acquisition further accelerates INVO’s transition to a healthcare services company and provides an opportunity to advance IVC volume and the ability to secure a greater share of total fertility cycle revenue.
Implemented expense reductions as part of go-forward plan to focus on its healthcare service strategy and a near-term path to profitability.
Buildout of the Company’s new Tampa, Florida clinic – Tampa Fertility Institute, an INVO Center – is nearing completion.
Raised approximately $4.5 million in gross proceeds in a public offering of common stock and warrants. The Company used approximately $2.15 millionof proceeds for the initial payment for the WFI acquisition.
Received 510(k) FDA clearance for expanded use of the INVOcell device.

Management Commentary

“We believe we have successfully transformed INVO into a rapidly growing, innovative healthcare services company which allows us to help accelerate IVC volume and obtain a greater share of the total fertility cycle revenue,” commented Steve Shum, CEO of INVO. “The closing of the WFI acquisition last week, coupled with the rapid 145% revenue growth in our existing INVO Center’s during this past quarter, should position our clinic operations to be cash flow positive in the third quarter of this year. Further, we have implemented a number of expense reductions as part of our go-forward plan to focus on our healthcare service strategy, which when coupled with the elimination of substantive costs associated with our successful 510(k) submission, should drive the business towards overall positive operating cash flow in 2024.”

On August 11, INVO announced it has closed the previously announced acquisition of Wisconsin Fertility Institute. The acquisition is reported to provide operational scale, positive cash flow and complements the Company’s new-build INVO Center strategy. The Madison-based fertility center primarily offers conventional IVF procedures having generated approximately $5.1 million in revenue and net income of $1.6 million for the trailing 12-month period ended March 31, 2023. INVO will look to further expand the center through the introduction of the IVC procedure as an added service offering to patients. Wisconsin Fertility Institute, led by internationally renowned and well-respected fertility expert, Dr. Elizabeth Pritts, is one of the state’s preeminent fertility centers, having helped to welcome over 5,000 babies since opening its doors in 2007 with approximately 550 conventional IVF procedures completed in 2022. Steve Shum, CEO of INVO stated, “The acquisition of Wisconsin Fertility Institute accelerates the transformation of INVO to a healthcare services company, with an ability to leverage our unique and innovative INVOcell device to help democratize the fertility industry. The acquisition immediately adds scale and positive cash flow to our operations, with incremental growth expected to be driven at the clinic through the synergistic introduction of our INVOcell solution. We are extremely excited to have now closed this important acquisition and look forward to incorporating the clinic within our operations moving forward.”

On Aug. 4 INVO announced the pricing of its public offering of 1,580,000 units, with each unit consisting of one share of common stock and two warrants, each to purchase one share of common stock. Each unit is being sold at a public offering price of $2.85. The warrants will be immediately exercisable at a price of $2.85 per share and will expire five years from the date of issuance. The shares of common stock and accompanying warrants can only be purchased together in this offering, but will be issued separately and will be immediately separable upon issuance.

On July 28, INVO effected a 1-for-20 reverse split of its issued and outstanding and authorized common stock effective as of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on July 28, 2023. Commencing with the opening of trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market on July 28, 2023, the Company’s common stock traded on a post-split basis under the same trading symbol, “INVO”. The company now has approximately 842,017 shares of common stock issued and outstanding. In addition, a proportionate adjustment was made to the company’s authorized shares of common stock such that the Company shall have 6,250,000 shares of authorized common stock after the effective time of the reverse stock split.

On June 27, INVO announced it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance to expand the labeling on the INVOcell device and its indication for use to provide for a 5-day incubation period. The data supporting the expanded 5-day incubation clearance demonstrated improved patient outcomes. Steve Shum, CEO of INVO stated, “This is a momentous day for INVO as the FDA has provided clearance for us to expand our labeling to cover a 5-day incubation period for INVOcell. This has been a multi-year effort to demonstrate INVOcell’s ability to improve patient outcomes using a longer incubation period, similar to conventional IVF results. We believe our ability to now communicate the improved success rates using INVOcell to patients and physicians will have a positive effect on the overall confidence and adoption of the technology going forward. The global fertility services market is a substantial, multi-billion-dollar industry and growing, with a significant underserved patient population. INVO’s commercial strategy remains focused on helping to expand affordable care to the underserved patients in need. The Company’s market approach includes the opening of dedicated “INVO Centers” offering INVOcell® and IVC procedure (three centers in North America now operational), the acquisition of existing profitable IVF clinics (signed binding agreements to acquire Wisconsin Fertility Institute), and the continued global distribution and sale of the INVOcell technology solution into existing fertility clinics. We believe the recent 510(k) clearance will help further support our overall commercial activities.”

On Jan. 16, BioSpectrum published an article titled “INVO Bioscience introduces next-gen technologies to fertility market in Taiwan.”

Shares of Borqs Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: BRQS), a global provider of 5G wireless solutions, Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, and innovative clean energy, with global operations in the U.S., India, and China, closed at $.1582, +4.77% over the last 5-days.

On Aug. 22, Borqs announced the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has granted the Company an extension from the original deadline of September 15, 2023 to January 1, 2024 to complete the divestment of its subsidiary, Holu Hou Energy LLC (HHE). As previously announced, the Company was mandated by CFIUS to divest its ownership in the solar energy storage subsidiary, HHE, due to national security concerns. Subsequently, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., a nationally reputable investment firm, was engaged by the Company to initiate and manage the sales process of the Company’s ownership in HHE and has received considerable interest from potential buyers. Over the coming months, the Company anticipates that the due diligence process will be completed, and the said transaction is targeted to be finalized by the end of the year. Mr. Pat Chan, CEO of Borqs stated, “Once we receive the funds from selling our interest in HHE, Borqs will continue to invest into futuristic technologies, especially in artificial intelligence based IoT products. We will also consider a share buyback program and/or a special dividend payout depending on the amount of cash to be received in order to enhance our shareholder value. We will provide further updates to our shareholders with regards to the HHE divestment during the next few months.”

On July 17, Borqs announced its plans to develop an AI-enabled smart watch as part of its expansion strategy into artificial intelligence (AI) for the U.S. market. The AI-enabled smart watch is positioned as an Edge AI device. According to NVIDIA, “Edge AI is the deployment of AI applications in devices throughout the physical world. It’s called “edge AI” because the AI computation is done near the user at the edge of the network, close to where the data is located, rather than centrally in a cloud.” (https://resources.nvidia.com/en-us-it-resources-blogs/what-is-edge-ai) Borqs AI-enabled smart watch will be based on Android and is wirelessly connected via Wifi/BT and cellular networks. It will make use of the AI capability on the watch chipset platform to perform the training and inference of machine learning for the sensors on the watch. The watch will also support ChatGPT or similar AGI capabilities as an intelligent voice assistant. Read more here.

Shares of InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (INM), a leader in the research, development and manufacturing of rare cannabinoids, closed at $.8599, up 4.74% over the last 5-days.

On July 20, InMed provided a commercial and manufacturing update on its subsidiary BayMedica LLC (“BayMedica”), a leading supplier of bioidentical rare cannabinoids to the Health and Wellness (“H&W”) market. Highlighting the following: $2.3M revenues (unaudited) in Q4 2023, representing 123% increase quarter over quarter (“QoQ”), Optimized and scaled up manufacturing processes over the last 12 months to meet increasing demand, & Third consecutive quarter with significant revenue growth. Eric A. Adams, InMed’s President and CEO stated, “We are very encouraged to see another strong quarter with (unaudited) revenues in excess of $2.3M, representing our third consecutive quarter with significant revenue growth. As demand for minor cannabinoids continues to increase, we see a potential path for BayMedica to become a profitable standalone business subsidiary and contribute margin to the pharmaceutical R&D parent.”
On June 22, InMed announced safety and efficacy results from its Phase 2 clinical trial, called 755-201-EB (the “Phase 2 Trial”), for the treatment of symptoms related to EB. The purpose of the Phase 2 Trial was to evaluate the safety of INM-755 CBN cream, which consists of the control cream plus the active pharmaceutical ingredient CBN, and obtain preliminary evidence of efficacy in treating symptoms and healing wounds over a 28-day period in patients with EB. All four subtypes of inherited EB, including EB Simplex, Dystrophic EB, Junctional EB, and Kindler Syndrome were accepted into the Phase 2 Trial. The Phase 2 Trial used a within-patient, double-blind design whereby matched index areas were randomized to INM-755 CBN cream or control cream. The Phase 2 Trial enrolled a total of 19 patients. Data from one patient were excluded from efficacy analyses due to a significant protocol deviation. Of the 18 remaining patients whose data were considered reliable for clinical review, 17 were treated for chronic non-wound itch and one patient was treated for wound-related itch. The remaining endpoints (pain, wound healing) could not be analyzed due to too few enrollees with such symptoms. Of the 18 participants assessed, chronic itch improved by a clinically meaningful amount in 12 patients (66.7%). InMed will pursue strategic partnership opportunities for INM-755 in epidermolysis bullosa (“EB”) and other itch-related skin conditions.
On June 1, InMed announced that results from a neurodegenerative disease study was presented in a scientific poster at the Canadian Neuroscience Meeting in Montreal from May 28-31, 2023. The InMed sponsored research, entitled “Cannabinoids modulate cytotoxicity and neuritogenesis in Amyloid-beta-treated neuronal cells”, demonstrated the ability of a specific rare cannabinoid (“pCBx”) in InMed’s 900 Series library of potential candidates that reduces amyloid toxicity and tau protein expression while enhancing neuronal cell growth and neuritogenesis markers in vitro, all considered to be important targets in the potential treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. The research was conducted in the laboratory of Dr. Ujendra Kumar and Dr. Rishi Somvanshi of the faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Studies have shown that cannabinoids, via their endocannabinoid receptors (CB1R and CB2R) that naturally occur in the human body and brain, reduce amyloid-beta (“Aβ”) toxicity, decrease p-tau protein expression and provide neurite outgrowth, thus improving neuronal viability and function. The results presented demonstrate the anti-apoptotic effects of pCBx and its role in neuritogenesis in the cells of neuronal origin and support the role of pCBx as a potential therapeutic intervention in neurodegenerative diseases.

Shares of Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATOS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company seeking to discover and develop innovative medicines in areas of significant unmet medical need in oncology, with a current focus on breast cancer and radiation-induced lung injury, closed at $.8336, +5.52% over the last 5-days and is up 57.28% YTD.

On Aug. 14, Atossa announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, and provides an update on recent company developments highlighted by the following: Achieved significant enrollment milestones in three ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials, Broadened patent protection for proprietary (Z)-endoxifen, Strengthened management team with appointment of Greg Weaver as Chief Financial Officer, & Ended second quarter 2023 with $99.4 million of cash and cash equivalents.

Shares of ADT Inc. (ADT), the most trusted brand in smart home and small business security, closed at $6.43, +2.23% over the last 5-days.

On Aug, 9, ADT reported results for the second quarter of 2023 and highlighted the following:

Record high recurring monthly revenue balance and maintained record high customer retention,
Improved capital efficiency with record revenue payback of 1.9 years,
Positive net income with strong Adjusted EBITDA and operating cash flows, &
announced agreement to divest commercial business for $1.6 billion unlocking significant shareholder value; net proceeds to be used for debt reduction.

Shares of Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (SHIP), the only pure-play Capesize ship-owner publicly listed in the U.S. closed at $5.40, +4.85% over the last 5 days. On Aug. 2, Seanergy announced its financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2023. They highlighted that Fleet Time Charter Equivalent (“TCE” 3) overperformance of Baltic Capesize Index (“BCI”) by 20% in 2Q23 & 1H23, a Quarterly cash dividend of $0.025 per share for Q2 2023 – total cash dividends of $1.325 per share or $23.9 million declared since March 2022, a stock buyback of $1.6 million, or approximately 2% of its issued and outstanding shares – total repurchases of securities (common shares, convertible notes and warrants) of approximately $39.6 million since November 2021, an Agreement to acquire a 2011-built Newcastlemax dry bulk vessel through a 12-month bareboat charter with a purchase option, & $53.8 million in refinancings during the second quarter, on improved terms, adding $15.0 million of extra liquidity and removing any loan maturities until Q2 2025.

Thanks again for your attention this week. Please continue to share your thoughts, questions, & ideas as we move forward.

In the meantime, please enjoy the balance of the weekly newsletter’s videos, quotes, updates and let’s find ways to crush it again as we move forward!

Investing & Inspiration

“A man who is a master of patience is master of everything else.” – George Savile
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” – Willie Nelson
“Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty.” – John Ruskin
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust
“Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.” – Napoleon Hill
“Science may never come up with a better office communication system than the coffee break.” – Earl Wilson
“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” – Henry Ford
“Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.”– Samuel Smiles
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” – Mark Twain
“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” – Vincent Van Gogh
“The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” – Mark Zuckerberg
“Our lives improve only when we take chances – and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.” – Walter Anderson
“Action is the foundational key to all success.” – Pablo Picasso
“Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.” – John Wooden
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs
“All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.” – Havelock Ellis
“The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.” – Robert Kiyosaki
“O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?” – Percy Bysshe Shelley
“Patience is a virtue, and I’m learning patience. It’s a tough lesson.” – Elon Musk
“Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.” – John Boyle O’Reilly
“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.” – Norman Vincent Peale
“Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.” – Boris Pasternak
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein
“It is the fight alone that pleases us, not the victory.” – Blaise Pascal
“Do exactly what you would do if you felt most secure.” – Meister Eckhart
“Life lived for tomorrow will always be just a day away from being realized.” – Leo Buscaglia
“Wisdom is oftentimes nearer when we stoop than when we soar.” – Wordsworth
“Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” – Mary Tyler Moore
“A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong.” – Tecumseh
“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“There is little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself.” – Louis XIV
“The limits of the possible can only be defined by going beyond them into the impossible.” – Arthur C. Clarke
“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” – Mother Teresa
“The future rewards those who press on. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I’m going to press on.” – Barack Obama
“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” – Confucius
“No man was ever wise by chance.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity.” – Thor Heyerdahl
“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” – William Shakespeare
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
“I want to put a ding in the universe.” – Steve Jobs
“Research is creating new knowledge.” – Neil Armstrong
“The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.” – Jonas Salk
“Man is a creative retrospection of nature upon itself.” – Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel
“There’s something about taking a plow and breaking new ground. It gives you energy.” – Ken Kesey
“Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” – William Feather
“The essential conditions of everything you do must be choice, love, passion.” – Nadia Boulanger
“More business is lost every year through neglect than through any other cause.” – Rose Kennedy
“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” – Archimedes
“A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read.” – Mark Twain
“The best way out is always through.” – Robert Frost
“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” – Francis of Assisi
“Without labor nothing prospers.” – Sophocles
“Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.” – Albert Einstein
“This is the precept by which I have lived: Prepare for the worst; expect the best; and take what comes.” – Hannah Arendt
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller
“He who is brave is free.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” – Elon Musk
“I choose a block of marble and chop off whatever I don’t need.” – Auguste Rodin
“Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers.” – Robert Green Ingersoll
“He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.” – Lao Tzu
“Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man.” – Stewart Udall
“In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.” – Dalai Lama
“A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.” – Bob Dylan
“Inflation destroys savings, impedes planning, and discourages investment. That means less productivity and a lower standard of living.” – Kevin Brady
“If we give something positive to others, it will return to us. If we give negative, that negativity will be returned.” – Allu Arjun
“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” ~ George S. Patton
“You must do the things you think you cannot do.”- Eleanor Roosevelt
“Success is dependent on effort.” – Sophocles
“Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.” – George Halas
“Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
“And when I breathed, my breath was lightning.” – Black Elk
“Moderation is the silken string running through the pearl chain of all virtues.” – Joseph Hall
“You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.” – Maya Angelou
“If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.” – Clint Eastwood
“We are an impossibility in an impossible universe.” – Ray Bradbury
“If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.” – Confucius
“I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.” – Robert H. Schuller
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” Desmond Tutu
“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” – Thomas Sowell
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha”
Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.” – Boris Pasternak
“Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.” – Khalil Gibran
“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.” – Bruce Lee
“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell
“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor, and your picture begins to lighten up.” – Allen Klein
“Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement.” – W. Clement Stone
“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau
“In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.” – Albert Einstein
“Life is too short for long-term grudges.” – Elon Musk
“There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.” – Henry Kissinger
“Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall.” – Oliver Goldsmith
“The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.” – Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
“Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war that we know about peace, more about killing that we know about living.” – Omar N. Bradley
“Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it.” – Rumi
“But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” – Ernest Hemingway
“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson
“Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.” – Nelson Mandela
“The social object of skilled investment should be to defeat the dark forces of time and ignorance which envelope our future.” – John Maynard Keynes
“A successful society is characterized by a rising living standard for its population, increasing investment in factories and basic infrastructure, and the generation of additional surplus, which is invested in generating new discoveries in science and technology.” – Robert Trout
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” – Albert Einstein
“It is the fight alone that pleases us, not the victory.” – Blaise Pascal
“If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.” – W. Edwards Deming
“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Without investment there will not be growth, and without growth there will not be employment.” – Muhtar Kent
“You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” – John F. Kennedy
“Delete the negative; accentuate the positive!” – Donna Karan
“It’s crazy how fast time flies and how things progress.” – Nathan Chen
“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” – Albert Einstein
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” – Confucius
“A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” – John C. Maxwell
“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” – Helen Keller
“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” – Charles Darwin
“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” – Michelangelo
“Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity.” – Thor Heyerdahl
“I like to encourage people to realize that any action is a good action if it’s proactive and there is positive intent behind it.” – Michael J. Fox
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” – Audrey Hepburn
“But investment in space stimulates society, it stimulates it economically, it stimulates it intellectually, and it gives us all passion.” – Bill Nye
“Bitcoin, in the short or even long term, may turn out be a good investment in the same way that anything that is rare can be considered valuable. Like baseball cards. Or a Picasso.” – Andrew Ross Sorkin
“Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.” – Charlie Chaplin
“No matter what you’re going through, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and it may seem hard to get to it but you can do it and just keep working towards it and you’ll find the positive side of things.” – Demi Lovato
“Infrastructure investment in science is an investment in jobs, in health, in economic growth and environmental solutions.” – Oren Etzioni
“Educating our children and giving them the skills they need to compete in a global economy is a smart investment in our country’s future.” – Sheldon Whitehouse
“Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.” – Sun Tzu
“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“Beware of missing chances; otherwise it may be altogether too late some day.” – Franz Liszt
“The sofa is a really important investment for anybody, and I don’t mean financially. You need to find a really great sofa that can transition with you, and you can build from there.” – Jeremiah Brent
“There is no investment you can make which will pay you so well as the effort to scatter sunshine and good cheer through your establishment.” – Orison Swett Marden
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” – Marie Curie
“There is little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself.” – Louis XIV
“In tennis, you strike a ball just after the rebound for the fastest return. It’s the same with investment.” – Masayoshi Son
“A camel makes an elephant feel like a jet plane.” – Jackie Kennedy
“The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don’t really even notice it, so it’s part of everyday life.” – Bill Gates
“Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.” – Confucius, Chinese
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” – Edward Everett Hale
“Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.”– Albert Einstein
“Education is not only a ladder of opportunity, but it is also an investment in our future.” – Ed Markey
“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” – Samuel Johnson
“In my view, the biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital. Not only is the mere drop in stock prices not risk, but it is an opportunity. Where else do you look for cheap stocks?” – Li Lu
“A successful society is characterized by a rising living standard for its population, increasing investment in factories and basic infrastructure, and the generation of additional surplus, which is invested in generating new discoveries in science and technology.” – Robert Trout
“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
“Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.” – Elie Wiesel
“Investing in women’s lives is an investment in sustainable development, in human rights, in future generations – and consequently in our own long-term national interests.” – Liya Kebede
“Success isn’t measured by money or power or social rank. Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace.” – Mike Ditka
“No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your sights on a higher one.” – Jessica Savitch
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”– Arthur Ashe
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain
“The amount of work and the amount of both physical and emotional investment it takes to get to the top.” – Drew Bledsoe